Joe's Weather World

After last years terrible floods, many folks who were directly affected want to know if this spring will be a repeat. This podcast with Scott Watson, a hydrologist with the NWS, talks about the the differences this year compared to last year and why we can't let our guard down right now.

Last year was one of the most devastating years for flooding throughout the Midwest. For more than 270 days in 2019, parts of the surrounding Kansas City area were under flood warnings. Scott Watson, a hydrologist from the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill, talks to Joe about the setup to last year and what made the flooding some of the worst in history.

If you run a private business, especially if you rely on specific weather information to either make or lose money, there is a weather service based out of Kansas City that can help you stay ahead of the competition. I talk to Sara Croke from the private weather company "Weather Or Not" based here in KC about her business and her career. Some of you may remember that she was on TV back in the day.

No polar vortexes? We’re about halfway through the winter season, and we’re seeing some strange things happen. FOX4 meteorologist Joe Lauria discusses odd temperatures in Kansas City mixed with changing snowfall across the country (what’s up with all the snow in Texas?). All of this, plus an uneasy feeling about flooding predictions come this spring.

For the first time in FOX4 Weather history, we have five full-time meteorologists on staff. No other station in KC has that. This podcast introduces you to our newest team member, Alex Countee. He's from Kansas City, and that makes his career move even more special... getting to do what he loves in the town that he grew up in.

2019 has ended, and what a year it was in the weather world in the KC area. Sure there were the usual nice days, but there was a tremendous amount of active weather... ranging from blizzards to flooding rains and a lot of other events in between. Meteorologist Michelle Bogowith sat in on Joe's Weather World as they discussed the Top 4 weather events (and other stuff) of 2019!

As part of my continuing podcast series regarding the changing climate, Jimmy Adagoke, a professor of Geosciences from UMKC, stopped by for round 2. We talked about some of the changes taking place now, not only here, but regionally and globally. We talk about the strengths of climate models and their weaknesses and also reveal what they show for the future. Also I wanted to ask about how climate change affects the land and oceans differently. For more general information on climate change, listen to "Climate Change: How It's Different From Weather."

As part of my continuing podcasts regarding the changing climate, Jimmy Adagoke, a professor of Geosciences from UMKC and an award winning climate scientist, stopped by to chat. My conversation with him is dedicated to the difference between climate and weather, what climate change is, how greenhouse gases are factoring into the changes and some of the science behind the changes taking place. Our discussion is split into two parts, and this is the first.

As the weather and the climate changes, an organization in Kansas City is looking at ways of adapting to the changes and work with others to try and affect ways of adapting. The group is called Climate Action KC, and this podcast is about their efforts and what they hope to achieve in our communities. I spoke with Lindsay Constance and Mike Kelly about the organization.

In part 1 of my podcast with veteran Kansas City TV personality, Joel Nichols, we visited about some of his favorite parts of doing television. In this podcast we revisit his weather casting career. Find out what happens when you cover severe weather at the same time that the 10 Commandments is airing on your station. He also brings us up to date about what he's doing these days.

Longtime Kansas City TV personality and weatherman Joel Nichols has worn many hats on the air, but his start in weather was pretty unconventional. FOX4 meteorologist Joe Lauria asks him about his start and how he got down to Kansas City. Nichols also unveiled some of his favorite parts of his career. This podcast was so much fun to do that we split it into 2 parts.

The 2019 EF-4 tornado that hit the Linwood, Kansas area was devastating. This podcast features the emergency manager of Leavenworth County, Chuck Magaha. He reveals some of the lessons learned from the tornado and the recovery process that is still ongoing in southern Leavenworth County.

In this special edition of Joe's Weather World, Meteorologist Michelle Bogowith, Meteorologist Karli Ritter and Photojournalist Jerry Paauwe talk about their experiences covering the May 28th tornado that tore through the KC metro. The storm became an EF-4 and crossed right in front of Bogowith and Paauwe, injuring 18 people in the Kansas suburbs along its 31-mile path.

FOX4 Meteorologist Joe Lauria sits down with Bill Snook of the Kansas City Health Department to talk about the deadliest form of extreme weather in KC, and why you should pay attention to more than tornadoes and flooding.

Fox 4 Meteorologist sits down with the Senior Director of Grounds and Landscaping, Trevor Vance, from the Kansas City Royals to talk about how the weather affects what he does, and how he keeps the field so green while all of our grass turns brown. He has a lot of challenges in his job, and he'll explain how he overcomes them during this sit-down.

There are 3 important facets of the weather enterprise...all 3 work together to prepare you and to help keep you safe when life threatening weather occurs. We covered the media aspect...we covered the National Weather Service aspect... Now this podcast covers the Emergency Management aspect. Emergency Managers are import for a variety of reasons...but are in every county and they are here for you too. This podcast talks about their importance and the role they play in keeping you safe.

The Mid America Regional Council or MARC helps TV meteorologists with air quality forecasts each day. During the spring and summer months depending on weather conditions and other factors, sometimes the air quality can be harmful. This podcast is dedicated to why that occurs and what those alerts really mean. Also what all of us can do to try to help out with the state of our air!

There are many facets of the weather enterprise. TV is the most known...but a group of dedicated men and women at the National Weather Service do tremendous work in providing TV stations with reliable and life saving information that we relay to you our viewers. I interviewed Andy Bailey from the NWS in Pleasant Hill, MO about their role in alerting the public about the weather and severe weather especially.

So many people tell us about their kids who are interested in meteorology and what is needed to get into the field of weather as a career. I talk to KU student Gabriella Gomez, who's about to graduate this spring, about her decision and what she has gone through to get her degree in meteorology. The ups and downs of her decisions and the hardest parts of completing her studies.

Joe recaps some of the wild weather events that left us raising our eyebrows. Hear how all the unusual weather events left Kansas City, in some regards, perfectly average.

This podcast discusses the crazy weather the KC area has experienced so far. Joe also talks about the snow in early winter and what that means for the rest of the 2018-19 season.

Joe talks about his first podcast and the weather in KC.